By Dean Seal
Shares of Getty Images Holdings dropped close to an all-time low, shedding gains made Tuesday after the company announced its merger with Shutterstock.
The visual content company's stock was down more than 16% at $2.67 in afternoon trading. Shares had been recovering from a record low of $2.06 at the end of December and rose 24% on Tuesday to close at $3.19.
Before Tuesday's opening bell, Seattle-based Getty and stock-photo rival Shutterstock said they would merge to form a company worth about $3.7 billion. The combined companies would aim to meet booming demand for licensed images and videos as artificial intelligence disrupts content creation.
Macquarie analysts Tim Nollen and Ross Compton said in a research note Tuesday that the deal would be accretive through cost synergies, though they noted that some regulatory questions could arise, since the merger would consolidate a market that is already narrowly defined.
New York-based Shutterstock also tumbled Wednesday, losing 10% to $30.97.
Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 08, 2025 14:24 ET (19:24 GMT)
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